Qibla bits

Your hating-muslims update for Friday 18 Shaban 1431.
First, the Temecula, CA anti-masjid protest seems to have fizzled: only about 20 protesters and one dog, far outnumbered by counter-protesters. I link many local stories because they all have different snappy quotes. 1, 2, 3, 4.

Second, the ADL comes out sort-of-against the Cordoba Initiative’s “Ground Zero Mosque.” (“Better to go somewhere else” rather than “we must stop this project.”) Abe Foxman:

But its national director, Abraham H. Foxman, said in an interview on Friday that the organization came to the conclusion that the location was offensive to families of victims of Sept. 11, and he suggested that the center’s backers should look for a site “a mile away.”

“It’s the wrong place,” Mr. Foxman said. “Find another place.”

Asked why the opposition of the families was so pivotal in the decision, Mr. Foxman, a Holocaust survivor, said they were entitled to their emotions.

“Survivors of the Holocaust are entitled to feelings that are irrational,” he said. Referring to the loved ones of Sept. 11 victims, he said, “Their anguish entitles them to positions that others would categorize as irrational or bigoted.”

Oy, Abe Foxman.

I wonder if the masjid planners would do it differently if they could go back to the starting point. I get the sense sometimes that they genuinely didn’t think this would be a big deal. (This attitude is more understandable from people living in NYC, I think, because they conceive the location as “downtown Manhattan” rather than “two blocks from….”) But now backing down would be letting some awful people get their way, so they’re stuck.

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12 comments

While it is nice of Mr. Foxman to stand up for the 9/11 families, and I agree with his specific point, I might point out:
1) While their emotions certainly matter, it’s not their call;
2) I’m not upset at the 9/11 families, I’m upset at 54% of the country most of whom were not directly (though I suppose indirectly) traumatized by 9/11;
3) That some of the bigots have a legit excuse doesn’t excuse all the rest.

I’m sure every demographic group has some member who committed a heinous crime and left at least one person bitter and hateful. Of course that person deserves our sympathy, but that doesn’t extend to becoming bitter and hateful ourselves. It seems unfair to judge the Cordoba House by the opinions of the most traumatized people.

Politicalfootball has it right–this is totally out of the purview of the ADL. As someone for whom Foxman claims to speak–and who has long noted his embrace of Christian Zionist antisemites–this newest low literally makes me nauseous.

Arguably, this falls squarely within the ADL’s charter&dmash;which says that “[i]ts ultimate purpose is to secure justice and fair treatment to all citizens alike and to put an end forever to unjust and unfair discrimination against and ridicule of any sect or body of citizens.”—only they came down on the wrong side. Oops!

As noted above, ADL’s gratuitous self-involvement in this affair is quite unfortunate yet sadly aligned with their history of differential outrage over abuse of the memory of the holocaust by the left versus the right.

The project does include a floor devoted to a prayer room, but not sure it warrants the appellation masjid. Their blog is worth a read on that and other points. And I agree that in the microgeography of lower Manhattan, I would not think of the location as WTC or “Ground Zero”, it is nearly as close to City Hall. Nor does the 13 stories stand out in any way in that setting. However, it does appear that a landing-gear went through the roof of the current building at the site (which will have a landmarks review later this summer.)

I honestly didn’t see that coming. I can’t believe that it’s still possible for me to be surprised at what a vile son of a bitch Lieberman is.

On the other hand, Bloomberg really came through. Young people may not remember, but there was a time when conservatives weren’t uniformly evil and crazy and anti-American.

Dorothy Rabinowitz here captures what a nation of pigs we are becoming. I honestly don’t think I am oversimplifying to say that Rabinowitz, here, comes out in opposition to American values on the grounds that foreigners may admire American values.

Rabinowitz, of course, would object to this characterization. To Rabinowitz, there is no American value higher than the loathing of foreigners.